Two almost simultaneous complaints about vehicle thefts, a police cruiser skidding off an icy road while responding to one of the calls and pursuing a suspect through a cemetery were all part of an eventful start to a weekend for officers from the Swift Current City RCMP.

“Yes, it was quite busy for them,” Staff Sgt. Al MacDonell said. “That’s just the nature of our work.”During the early evening Friday, Jan. 11, the RCMP received two reports at around the same time about stolen vehicles.The complaints came from the South Service Road East area in the vicinity of Wong’s Kitchen and the nearby apartments.While responding to one of the calls, an officer lost control of a police cruiser along Cheadle Street East on the icy and rutted road. The vehicle slid off the road and hit a pole.“It caused extensive damage to the police car but no injuries to the operator,” MacDonell said.The arrival of the police at Wong’s Kitchen brought that attempted vehicle theft to a sudden end.“The accused wasn’t able to leave in that vehicle and the other vehicle has been recovered as well,” he said.During their investigation the police pursued one of the suspects through a nearby cemetery. MacDonell said two men were arrested and they were in custody.“We have one person charged and I believe he already made a court appearance,” he mentioned. “The rest of the matter is still under investigation.”In another incident at the start of the weekend a late model SUV crashed into a large tree on the sidewalk next to Mitchell Field baseball diamond. The vehicle was still at the scene on Saturday afternoon, Jan. 12.The vehicle left the road at a curve along 19th Avenue N.E., destroyed a traffic sign and came to a halt against the tree. According to MacDonell this incident was not related to the attempted vehicle thefts.“It was not related at all,” he said. “The driver called in the next day to report that accident.”